Today's Topics:
1. The Barcelona Interview Series - Aitor Tarradella from
Embat: "For me to Leave Spain is a Strategic Move"
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
2. alas barricadas - cnt catalunya: The rime returns to the
city of Pisuerga. Communiqué of the Anarchist Group Cencellada
(ca, it) [machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
3. France, Alternative Libertaire AL Décembre - Melenchavism:
The unions behind me ! (fr, it, pt) [machine translation]
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
4. [USA] Support Riseup! Today, we will present the story of
Riseup. By ANA (pt) (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
5. cgt-lkn: The union robbery of the ERE (By Rafael Cid) (ca,
it) [machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
"Tomorrow there will be elections in Catalonia. On Novermber 20 we spoke with Aitor of
Embat." ---- How did you react when the independence movement came up and was getting
stronger, because I guess it wasn't easy to find a position on what to do in this
situation? ---- Aitor: Well, first I am from Embat and we are people from different
generations. We have a real connection and knowledge of the independent movement. Even
before it was stronger as it is now. The leftwing independence movement is from well...
between 82 or 86. So they have a long history. So your question about independence or
emanciptation of Catalonia.. It's something that was very present in our organisation from
the beginning. Even before it's creation. So when it really started we already had our
point of view and a position about that. So it wasn't really difficult to take a stand
about that. Our position about this kind of self-determination was an idealist position.
The situation is often more visible and more clear in colonies like for instance Algeria
or the Philippines (These states are officially independent, but still treated as
colonies, EIE). So we tried to make this relation between the colonies and Catalonia. But
I think our strongest position is not this point, it's a strategic one. The strongest
point is about the restoration of the democracy in 1978 and the fact that in these 40
years the Spanish state is like a fortress. It's blocking any advance to change anything.
Even the smallest reformist idea. So we think that it was an opportunity to make a
declaration of independence to break out of Spain. It opens a new field, new possibilities
to change things. Not directly an anarchist society but to have new possibilities to to
work on that. So we understand the declaration of independence in this way. A strategic
way. So people can take the streets and have more empowerment and then we might be able to
really change things someday. But at the same time we weren't very enthousiastic about it
(the declaration of independence, EIE). Because society was not prepared. Some
independentists have really strong ideas about nationalism, like this inter-classist
scenario. Which is not our thing. But we understand this as a strategic step anyway. So
yes we decided maybe we are going to vote, it's going to happen and maybe things will not
change in the way we want but it will open a new field. We can work out new strategies on
this new field. The place where we are is closed, were stuck and can't change anything
(inside the Spanish state, EIE).
The date that drastically changed a lot for me was the 20th of September. That was the day
that the Spanish Guardia Civil and the Policia Nacional came to the CUP (Far-left party in
Catalonia, EIE) headquarters and to the Catalonian ministry of economy. They started to
confiscate voting registers and arrested officials. There were a lot of people on the
streets. The committees to defend the republic were created and expanding fast. This day
was not just about big politics like Catalan president Puigdemont against Rajoy (Spanish
prime minister, EIE), on this day it became a grassroots movement. People started to take
action, maybe not the kind of action that I was expecting but that day changed the whole
scenario.
There are many different groups, initiatives and parties who are part of the independence
movement. Can you tell us something about your views on these different groups and about
their positions?
Aitor: First of all I will speak about the political parties that were in Catalan
parliament before the Spanish state forced us to hold new elections on the 21st of
December. We have this coalition of parties Junts pel Si ( which means Together for Yes,
JxSi, EIE). Which is a coalition of Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC, EIE) which is
a party that is about 100 years old. Then we have Convergence and Union (Convergència i
Unió, CiU, EIE), a liberal right wing and conservative party which has its origins in the
transition. This party was dissolved and re-founded as PDeCAT. In the Junts pel Si there
are also some independent people from other parties that were not present in the
independence movement. This coalition was created to organize the referendum and to make
the declaration of independence possible. There are also some people from civil society in
this coalition. The presidents of the ANC and Omnium are also in it. This is part of the
spectrum. For me it's totally right wing and controlled by the parties. The people from
civil society that are in it, are there to have a good appearance but they have no social
content. They have this totally inter-classist idea and that's it.
Then there is CUP, which is the left independentist party. It came out of the
left-independentist movement. There are two main organisations in CUP, one is more
anti-capitalistic than the other. They have different points of view in strategy. There is
also ARAN, which is the youth organisation of CUP. A left independence workers union,
there is also a feminist organization, and an anti-repression Organization inside CUP. So
this is the spectrum where they work with. I think they are really interesting. They
started as a municipalist movement and tried to do politics from the city councils. A few
ago they did the step to get into Catalan parliament. They did that to support the
declaration of independence. They are also interesting because they have really strong
ethics. They have a salary cap. Their MP's can keep 1400€ of the 5000€ they receive. The
rest are given to solidarity movements and social issues. The structure of CUP is mostly
horizontal. They don't have a chief in command or something like that. Decisions are taken
in assemblies. They also have a quite ambitious program. They are anti-capitalists,
feminists and ecologists. There are also some parts of the old left, like some communists
in CUP. But their visions are pointed to what I would call the new left. Their main
reference are movements like the Zapatistas and Kurdistan (Aitor meant Rojava, EIE). They
are not coming from the old Soviet-Union ideas.
So these are the parts of the independent movement that are in parliament. On the streets
you have the left-independentist movement. These are organisations that are not only
working in a parliamentist way. There are for instance syndikalists etcetera etcetera. On
the other hand we also have the ANC and Omnium which are the main organizations that
nowadays are leading the Catalan independence process. They are linked with Junts pel Si.
These two organisations are inter-classist and have no social content. They just want
independence for independence. They have faith in the institutions. At first it seemed
that they were the ones that were pushing the government to declare independence but right
now it seems that they are just taking orders from the government. Now they say, stay
calm, wait for the elections blah blah blah.
Than we have some other indepententist movements, but in my view they are not properly
organized. There is Negres Tempestes (Read our interview with Negres Tempestes, EIE),
which is a small collective. I think that's the spectrum inside the independence movement.
And now, since the 20th of September, we have the CDR's, the Committees to Defend the
Referendum. These are local organizations that are mostly initiated from the left and
created to have a response and defend the referendum so people would be able to vote
(during the referendum on the 1st of October, EIE) but also to defend people against the
police. Most of the CDR's are very diverse. Not one of the CDR's is similar to the others
because they are formed by many people which are very diverse. But at the same I think
that this diversity is a benefit. They have a lot of debates about many issues that the
other organizations cannot do. In some places, where they are more horizontal than in the
others, they are horizontal and they use methods of direct action. They have no leaders. I
think this development is really interesting.
There are also anarchists who are not involved in the independence movement. Can you tell
us something about their position and how do you think about that?
Aitor: I think that the independence movement or maybe it's better to say this
independence idea has been present from the beginning as I started to get politically
active. It's present in all the anarchist movements for a long time now. Many years ago it
was linked with anarchists that were totally ideologic. Idealistic about anarchism. The
mainstream anarchists at that time were people like for instance squatters, dressed in
black and all this stuff. They had this position that we have to be against a declaration
of independence and things like that because it's about nationalism and creating a new
state blah blah blah. I think that was the main position. A few years ago this has changed
but because the independent movement has changed, the anarchist movement has changed it.
Nowadays there are much more social anarchists, or maybe I should say practical ones. They
try to develop new strategies and create new material to work with other people. If you do
that you cannot be an outsider of society. I think that changed a lot. But right now I
think it's not mainstream to be an independentist in anarchism. There is a debate right
now and I think it's kind of late. During a meeting with many people we had a good debate
about this but at the same time no-one is getting to a conclusion. Everyone is giving his
or her opinion but that's it. There was no position like: this is what we need right now.
So the debate is ongoing because many people don't want to come to a conclusion. I think
it's an error for anarchism because we don't make clear what our position is. For our
organization it's kind of difficult to work with other anarchists because of this. Because
we don't have clear answers from many other people. They are like well I am ok with this,
but not with that. Maybe some have to go 2 steps forward and others 2 steps back. So it's
very difficult and right now we have this position in Embat but we have to work with the
leftwing because they are the only ones with a similar position. I think it's a bad
strategy (by parts of the anarchist movement, EIE) and it's a stalled debate, it's not
going anywhere.
We actually got a lot of mails after we started publishing different views from anarchists
in Catalonia about the Catalan process. Mails like: "Why are you publishing his?" Some
people were really upset. But we continued to publish about the Catalan process, because
in our view you need to look into a subject and read different positions and views to be
able to develop your own position. I don't know how people want to start a debate without
knowing these different positions.
Aitor: Sometimes people just have different opinions, not just about independence. If you
don't discuss the mainstream position about something it's difficult to expose it. Ah no
you are a communist or what? It's even difficult to debate about that. Some people just
have their principals and their principals are totally untouchable.
What are the main reasons for you why Catalonia should leave Spain?
Aitor: I am going to answer what I have said before. For me to leave Spain is a strategic
move. To break Spain, to fracture the Spanish government. Leaving Spain brings us in a new
position. To work on social issues. It's to create a new scenario where we can work with.
I think this break-up is not going to be just a new place for politics in general, but
also on a social level. There are many people that are not organized in the streets but
this new scenario gives us new possibilities to work with.
What should change if Catalonia becomes independent in comparison to the situation now?
Aitor: We have 3 different parts and we need a superb position to be able to change
things. In one part we have the Spanish government. It's totally fascist. Authoritarian
and repressive. Large parts of Spanish society is very traditional. There is high
unemployment and many people are still voting the Spanish governing party Partido Popular
(PP, EIE). But we also have the Catalonian government. We know since last week that they
were not prepared to make the official declaration of independence. They just did this
symbolic thing to make people feel relaxed and now they are in exile. It seems that they
are trying to start a dialogue with the Spanish state to get some kind of referendum pact
or something similar. And then we have civil society. It has organized itself in the
committees (CDR's, EIE) but also in other ways. Now people have been empowered but I think
it's not enough. On November 8 there was a general strike, but it was hidden. They called
it a general stop just not to call it a general strike. But people were able to block the
main roads in the territory. I think that was a big victory for many people. But now it
seems that we are stuck. We don't have any other plan. People seem to wait for new steps
of the Spanish and Catalan government. Many people are still acting in a responsive way.
On the other hand we have the Spanish left (parties). For me they are kind of shameful.
They are not doing anything about it. They are just waiting to give a new statement and
looking what they can gain and are afraid to lose votes. They are not working on a street
level at all. For me that's wrong and cynical. I think the Spanish left have to change
radically or they will end up in another regular party. They have to change their
mentality a lot.
So for things to change here, I think we cannot do much more than waiting for the
government. We are still dependent from them, which is a shame, but this how things are
right now. But at the same time it's a great moment for us. There have been a lot of
demonstrations, almost daily. It has been really tiring for a lot of people in the
committees, every time they had to go to the center of Barcelona. So right now I think
it's a good moment for the committees to grow up and to get stronger during the time we
will have to wait for the elections and see what happens. People didn't believe in
themselves so much and we should develop a vision what the next step in the independence
process could be. For me that would be a constituent process. I think the CDR assemblies
are the best place to do that. So people can empower themselves and be a part of it,
create it and are not just responding to the government. But also because people who are
not part of the independence movement right now can empathise with it. We are also
organizing, together with other parts of the left, a social constituent assembly. It's the
left and social answer on the ANC und Omnium on a political level. This can be a good
assembly where people can empower themselves and maybe this could change some the point of
view of people.
Many people in Europe don't know what's meant with the regime of ‘78. Can you explain that
to our readers?
Aitor: We're coming from a dictatorship that lasted 40 years and then we had this kind of
transition. Some historians call it transaction. This transition was also a big moment in
Spanish history. When Franco died we had a period of about 4 or 5 years that a lot of
things were changing. A new constitution was written and a lot of political parties came
up, especially the ones that ruled Spain since then. The PP, which is a right wing party.
A lot of their politicians came from the Franco government. And the PSOE. First they were
communists and marxists but during the transition they changed their ideals and now they
are social-democrats. Well they were social-democrats in the beginning after the
transition. But now they are just neoliberals like the others. So during the transition
they were like well we are in favour of abortion but in the end there is just economics
and their politics are the same. This transition was written in 78. So from there to here
only these two parties have been ruling Spain. That is why we call it a two party system.
You also see this on other states, like the United states but there it's a kind of
tradition. Here it's not a tradition. It's something that happened because some people
wanted it to happen. It smells, it's rigged. So we were in a cycle of struggles and
thought we could change something. We tried again and again. But this system cannot be
changed because these parties are the same. They are controlling the economy. It's a kind
of rotative system, like these hotel doors. They go in as politicians and they go out to
get into the energy enterprises or other corporations. There is also a lot of corruption
in these parties. So we call this the regime of 78. This political block is not changing.
They are like the dictatorship. Never. Even now, with new parties like Podemos they are
not changing this. Podemos can't change it because the PP and the PSOE are to strong. They
cannot be foughted from within the institutions. So we have to make this break-out to
change it. On the political level that's the regime but we also have some old ideas in the
heads of some people. And there is the king. The constitution. There are a lot of people
in Spain right now who are against independence. They argue that we have a constitution.
If you want to go you first have to modify the constitution. But the constitution is also
fortressed for these parties so you cannot change it. It's not just a political regime,
it's also a kind of social mentality regime.
The Spanish government suspended catalan autonomy with article 155. What do you think
would be a effective way to resist against this kind of repression?
Aitor: This article was approved for the same reason as the fact that we cannot change
anything. It's was approved to make sure the two ruling parties of the Spanish state keep
the power in the whole state. It's part of the constitution. So it's part of the mentality
of the 78 regime. We cannot really resist against this article. People are still not
organized enough to break it. There are many people in the independence movement that are
opposing this article. They resist but right now it's really pacifist. But not just
pacifist, it's passive. Mostly there are symbolic actions. So this is a big repressive
action by the Spanish government but if we are not empowered enough we cannot do much
about it. People wait until the upcoming elections and that a new government would change
something. But for me... I don't know... maybe some public workers like from public TV or
radio or teachers, who's jobs are being questioned by the Spanish government at the moment
can do something but it's not something that can be easily changed.
How can people outside of Catalonia support the struggle here? Do you have any ideas about
that?
Aitor: I think that the main thing they can do is spreading the word. It's like you told
me before. Many people know but it seems a lot of them don't want to know. I think right
now the only thing that can really change something right now is some action by the EU.
Some government... We are still not empowered enough to do things that could be effective
ourselves outside Catalonia. So yes, I think the main thing that people can do is to
spread the word and to receive good information. It's important because there is a lot of
disinformation from Spanish TV.
Can you tell us something about the rise of Fascism im Spain and Catalonia?
Aitor: I think that's an issue to be worried about. A lot of people here who are Catalan
nationalists are not fascists. Often they have a more liberal opinions. Most fascists in
Catalonia are working together with Spanish fascists. For now, I think it's still not as
dangerous as it could be. But at the same time I think that the extreme positions we are
facing right now are feeding fascism. I think it's kind of inevitable. This is how things
happen. If something big happens like here in Catalonia, you will always find people who
oppose that and a part of them will do that in the most extreme way. With fascist
positions. So yes fascism is growing but at the same time there are many people on the
streets to fight for other things. Which is actually good.
On the other hand we have Spanish fascism. For me that's the more dangerous one because in
this struggle there is a lot of nationalism. I don't deny it, it's also on the Catalan
side. People are getting this ideas, these things are in there heads, this nationalism.
Many people who are against Catalan independence rapidly became a kind of super Spanish
and started to say things like ‘fuck Catalans' and ‘We are all Spanish'. It's like they
have put this kind of ideas in a bag and won't go out. They don't want anything else. But
on the Catalan side you have a similar phenomenon. Like I am Catalan and I am pro liberty
and for human rights blah blah blah. So they put themselves in the other bag and also
won't go out. Not in any direction. So because there are a lot of people against Catalan
independence in Spain. They think that the economy will get worse, not because of
economics or political reasons but because of Catalan independence. For many people it
started with carrying a flag. They meet other people with a flag. They emphatized and
became fascists although they often don't even know this about themselves. This is how
Fascism is growing. To some extent below the surface.
Another problem is that the Spanish left is doing nothing about this. Like I said before
they are just trying to gain votes with watering speeches. By doing this they are doing
the fascists a favour. They don't talk about it. They are not organizing on the streets.
They don't do anything to stop it So fascism is growing in Spain. But these days fascism
is also growing in Catalonia. Not at the same level but there is no real resistance
against it. One of the reasons is that many people in the independence movement are taking
orders from the ANC and Omnium. They are kind of liberal so they are very passive about
doing anything. If Nazi's in Catalonia or even here in Barcelona notice that there is not
a lot of resistance, they will grow again. So that can become a problem but at the moment
it's more a Spanish than a Catalan problem.
What do you think about the pacifist strategy of the independence movement?
Aitor: Ok I can understand it because from the beginning of 15M until now all the
movements had a pacifist agenda. At the same time it's kind of inclusive because a lot of
people are scared of violence. Or even scared of violence that I don't even understand as
violence like.. Things like breaking a window of a bank... Or selfdefence. That kind of
stuff. I think there are a lot of people that are scared of things like this. So instead
of trying to define what is violence and what is making them scared, they are making the
point that they are not violent. But without a definition about what violence actually is,
its more like when the media say this and that is violence, then I am against it. Then you
are paralyzing yourself. Than its a dogma, nothing else. Its dificult, because parts of
the media are telling people all the time that these actions are violent, but they are
not, they are non-violent. The parts of the media that are telling this, are able to do
that because when we don't have our own postion about violence, a position that's based on
a definition of violence, then we can't do much against these stories of violence by parts
of the media. To give an example. There were discusions about spraying paint on a bank
office during the general strike at October 3. Some people thought that this was a violent
action. So I think the discussion should not be about violence or non-violence. It should
be about what is violence?, and what are we able to do?, and what do we want to do? Or
willing to do?
There is also a new organisation now. Its called something like "Stand for Peace". This
organisation is trying to make things even more pacifist. For me it's kind of strange,
because until now everyone has been so pacifist. If you try to aske something from the
European Union I think it's a good strategy, but a strategy, not a dogma. Of course it has
been useless (to ask something for the EU, EIE) but the big organisations are still making
clear that they are pacifists. At first I had some doubts about what they were doing. I
thought okay, maybe they will define what is violence and what is not and that they will
explain people how you can do certain actions and explain why these actions are useful.
But at the end it wasn't like that. It was just to make clear that a protest or something
like that had to be totally pacifist. They are not even open to discuss their actions or
their point of view. The communication is only going one way: Top-down. So I am very
skeptical about the positions of the big organisations and especially the new organisation
on this.
Last month we reported from a demonstration of the independence movement. We saw that a
part of the protesters were celebrating the Catalan police. We were... well.., let's say
surprised. What is your position on things like that?
Aitor: I understand that you were surprised. I think first people have to understand the
diversity of people that are pro independence. A lot of these people were not organized
and never were part of a movement until now. Many of them were not on the streets 5 or 6
years ago, during 15M. So right now it's their position. In some of the CDR's, the
seöf-defence committees a lot of people are thinking about that. They discuss this kind of
things. To make it clear I am against people celebrating Catalan cops, or any other cops
and all that kind of stuff. Some people think that it's okay to celebrate the Catalan
police, many of them are thinking this for many many years. I don't think you can change
this by writing a good statement, the CDR's are probably the best place to discuss things
like this again and again. We have to work on that day by day. I don't even think I would
support to do it in a collective way as a group. I won't do that. I think I would do it as
an individual. Day by day, speaking with people, with empathy. Working with people who
don't see you as a freak, but to empathise with people. So they notice that your ideas are
not as crazy as it seems.
I also want to add that a lot of people are celebrating the police because of the
terrorist attack that happened this summer. The head of Catalan police was described as
some kind of super-hero and there was a lot of bullshit published about that. But others
just didn't think a lot about it. They are just like... well... I am Catalan and I support
Catalan police. Without any doubt, without seeing all the stuff Catalan police have done
over the years. Like murdering people and even admitting it.
We remembered how Catalan cops cleared the 15M occupation at the Catalunya square in
Barcelona in 2011...
Aitor: Yes actually one of the policemen who took part in that police operation... there
was an image of a woman that gave a police man a hand during an independence demonstration
and after that many memes appeared with this image because there were several court cases
against this police man because he was accused several times of torturing people that were
arrested.
On November 19 we were on a anti-fascist demonstration on the Via Augusta (Barcelona) and
again and again fascists were provocating the demonstration, trying to attack them. A lot
of the fascists were masked. The first question is.. Is there an increase in fascist
violence in the last couple of months and the second question is... The way people were
marching on the anti-fascist demo on November 19 and how they continued their march after
the fascists showed up... There was not any moment that the anti-fascist demo would have
been able to defend themselves. They didn't even try. They were not even building chaines
or things like that. They were totally depending on the Catalan police. It was quite
dangerous...
Aitor: I wasn't there but I heard a lot of comrades were talking about this demonstration
and how aweful it was. I think the anti-fascist movement is kind of devided in two
tendencies. One is the classic one with red and black which is standing outside of
society. People see them as violent. But the other one, the one that organized the
demonstration on November 19... they dont see racism and fascism as an institutionalized
problem. A few days before the demonstration they were still working together with the
social-democrats... the ones who defend the 155 article and stuff like that.. The ones
that work together with parties who stand for the reigme of 78... They are believing in
the institutions and are pro police. They also don't have this action tradition... They
just march for marching. It's symbolic. The old antifa movement normally would have
reacted on the fascist provocations during the demonstration, maybe there would have been
fights or even a riot...
I didn't even mean direct actions or stuff like that... There were a lot of elderly people
on the demo at November 19 and just to give an example people could have build-up chains
around the elderly people when the fascists showed up to protect them from the fascists..
but on the demo people didn't even try things like that...
Aitor: I understand what you mean. Maybe it's because we didn't have a real or let's say
big fascist problem in Catalonia. It's kind of growing at the moment but in Catalonia it's
a bit like in the Basque country. There aren't many organized fascists so it never was a
big threat, so people are not used to having to be prepared to defend themselves against
fascists during a demonstration. Many people feel comfortable, also on the streets and
they think they don't have to resist. They think the police will defend them. I doubt
that, but that's what many people think.
Actually the police did during that demo. But I would not rely on it...
Aitor: Yes I know what you mean. The other thing is that you have this dogma about
pacifism here. I say pacifism but in the end it's just passivity. Doing nothing about it
and I think that's a problem because someday we are going to have some people killed and
this would happen because of this passivity.
A few days before the demo you rerfered to, there was an anti-fascist demo organized by
the "old" antifa movement but there were not many people. I think the anti-fascist
movement has to unite and re-organize. But I have to say that the area where you were on
November 19 is probably the only district of Barcelona where there are a lot fascists.
Yes we saw a lot of fascist stickers and posters and stuff there, that we didn't see
anywhere else in Barcelona. Not on this scale.
Aitor: This city is very divers and multi-cultural. Many migrants are coming to Barcelona
and live here. If you are in Raval, a neighbourhood where many migrants live, you don't
see any fascist stickers or other fascist stuff at all.
When did the independence movement start?
Aitor: Well... I give you the short version. From the past couple of years where it became
mainstream. The boost came shortly after 15M. That was the time that the ANC was founded.
Artur Más, the former Catalan president, started to talk about independence in a liberal
way. Before that the independence movement wasn't that big, but mostly they were from the
left. Historically people were working on this for about 100 years but it's only about 5
years ago that it really started to grow.
What do you think was the main motivation for people to join this movement.
Aitor: Right now I think that many people joined the independence movement because they
have a nationalistic point of view. But there are also many people who joined because they
don't see any alternative in Spain. They see Spain as a monolith where you can't change
anything. Not even when you would start a new party. It wouldn't change anything (Podemos
is about to proof that, EIE). I think the main reason for many people to join the
independence movement wass because they thought: This is an alternative, it's something
new and it could happen.
We went on an assembly of one of the CDR's and we also were on some of the 15M assemblies
a couple of years ago. Do you think parts of the independence movement came out of 15M?
Aitor: Yes I think so. I was active in the 15M movement. During that time there were
already a few meetings were we spoke about independence. There were a lot of people with
this kind of ideas . It was also the time that CUP came into parliament. So yes I think
there are links between the 15M movement and the independence movement. Ofcourse I speak
about the 15M movement on the Catalan territory.
What do you think about how a future anarchist society should deal with people that work
for the state now. I don't only mean people like cops, but also state offcials who work in
the office and write the deportation order or stuff like that.
Aitor: I think we would need some kind of community police like they have in Chiapas in
Mexico, or the kind of militias like in Rojava. Not to patrol the streets but to be able
to respond when something happens. For the people who work for the state now, like police
men, I think they could do social services for the community. Social services that are not
oppressive. I would like to add that in 1936, during the Spanish revolution, a lot of
cooperatives and councils gave the bosses the opportunity to join them. Not as a boss but
as an equal member. They didn't have more authority then the other members, but they could
join.
Big organizations like the ANC are dominating solidarity work for the independence
movement in foreign countries. Do you know other, more grassroots organized groups who are
organizing solidarity for the independence movement in other countries?
Aitor: The idea to do that was discussed in some CDR's, not a lot, but it has been
discussed. And the CDR assemblies are spreading. There is one in Mexico, one in Paris, one
in Berlin and also one in Scotland. And I think one in Ireland. The Kurdish movement also
showed their solidarity. For me that was important. It showed me that we are not doing as
bad as it seems.
Do you want to install a republic of councils? Not a Soviet-Style one but one like Like
some other groups that support the independence movement? And if yes, how do you want to
create it?
Aitor: Well I haven't sorted out all my thoughts about it but I think it will be the best
way to work. Not only in a solely Catalonian way. We have a long way to go. I think a new
Catalan state cannot be declared without the people that are living there. Things will
have to change. I think that the Committees (CDR's, EIE) should play a major role in the
territory. They should be a point where things come together and take part in the
constituent process. That could change a lot of things.
Do you think the support of this idea of a republic of councils is big enough at the moment?
Aitor: No. Not at all. Not at all. I think that some parts of the left-independentist
movement will share this idea, also some anarchists. But I think that most people don't
share the ideal of a more social society. So I think the support is not big enough.
Let's talk about economy and consume. What kind of eceonomic models would you propose for
a Catalan republic?
Aitor: I think that a lot of things would work better as it works right now, when we would
organise the economy in cooperatives. Cooperativism. This is already growing a lot in
Catalonia and also works very well in Rojava. It also works well in the Turkish part of
the Kurdish territory. There it's used to escape from the control by the Turkish state.
But also the old anarchist model like no private properties but the thing to start with
would be the cooperatives to create a new economy.
What do you think about the feminism fight in Catalonia?
Aitor: I think it has a lot of similarities with the feminst struggle in the rest of the
western world. I think the women are aware of who they are. It's growing a lot and has a
lot potential. The feminist struggle is also playing a crucial role in the construction of
the confederal democarcy model people are working with in Kurdistan. That's inspiring the
feminist struggle here. This could be something that could change a lot of things, not
just socially but also issues like feminist economy.
Our equipment suffered a lot from traveling around Europe for our independent on the
ground reports. We need new microphones for better audio on our video reports, a new
laptop (the last one crashed in Catalonia) and have a lot of expenses for our on the
ground reporting.
We want to stay independent and want to expand our work with on the ground reporting
across Europe and even beyond. Therefore we need your support. Help maintain our site and
continue our work. Your donations make our work possible.
We did and do a lot of on the ground reporting in Europe. On December 17 we will travel to
Lesvos (Greece) and in January we will travel from Lesvos to Athens to report on the ground.
Each donation helps, also the small ones. Thank you for supporting the Enough is Enough
project.
Crowdfunding campaign: https://www.youcaring.com/enough14novdec
You can also donate on our Paypal account: enough14@gmx.net
------------------------------
Message: 2
After a series of debates and internal sharing from the Anarchist Group Cencellada we
consider it necessary to resume our political activity in the particular territory we
inhabit. Being aware of the changes, the current social problems and the continuously
mobile political context in which we move, we continue with the need to work in the
dissemination of anarchist ideas and in the attempt to put them into practice, since we
understand that anarchists, their practices, their theories and their methods have much to
say and contribute to society in an attempt to structurally transform everything that
oppresses and limits us. ---- From the street to the parliament. Some considerations on
the current political future ---- In recent years we have seen how, after a period of
great activism and more widespread mobilizations animated from 15M, the various struggles
have been channeled through the institutional route, emptying the streets. This
pacification of struggles, both for the institutional recovery, as well as for a fatigue
and exhaustion of repetitive dynamics, not insignificant, has generated a situation of
discouragement and lethargy in the social movements in general.
The entrance to the institutions of diverse political projects more or less alternative
has served to realize the limits of the machinery of the State. Even being an internal
part of the machine, there are glass ceilings that are closed by institutional means and,
as we already knew, they will not let them break . We are aware of the role of power as
well as of its public institutions, which serve only to control those issues that we
understand should be collective, horizontal and direct management. In our city,
Valladolid, it is being seen as " the Town Hall of change"It does not have the capacity to
solve all the needs of the neighborhood, generating a climate of discontent and
disorientation because there are, in principle, no other alternatives, and also, making it
difficult to create these based on fines, precariousness and encouraging" participation
citizen "commercialized, elitist and not real.
With all this and after a couple of years marked by a trend towards social demobilization,
in recent months an old claim has emerged that, even for a short period of time, has put
in check an increasingly illegitimate Spanish state , at least, in one of its most
important territories. We understand that the analysis of what happened in recent months
in Catalonia does not correspond to us, but nevertheless, we do consider it necessary to
try to understand its repercussions both in Valladolid and in the rest of the Castilian
territory.
Without pretending the present communiqué is to make a deep and detailed analysis of this
issue, we do want to highlight a significant fact: looking at the commotion with a little
perspective, what beyond the Catalan territory is becoming clear is that they call "Spain"
there is a latent conflict that has been dragging at least since the fall of the Franco
regime and that can not be hidden. And is that the transition did not mean a break with
the predecessor regime as the vast majority of the population claimed. At no time have
responsibilities been purged or a reparation process fostered for all the atrocities
suffered / committed during forty years of fascist dictatorship.
Beyond the horizon: life and the abyss
The social conjuncture that surrounds us has its roots in a verified civilizational
crisis. We can go from scandal to scandal or take the road again for a habitable planet
and for a free life. For this we have to face the vision of the decadent future plunged
into a chaotic and destructive dynamic, caused by the unlimited expansion of capitalist
value. Given this , the duty of the libertarian movement is to raise again utopias in
which freedom and life are the center and make clear the impossible relationship between
the sustainability of life and the current productivist logic that is maintained through
the spoliation of the territories and the invisible work of historically female subjects.
Touched but not sunken
We want to reflect on the current situation of anarchism in the Peninsula, being aware of
where we are coming from and where we are going, in an attempt to continue forming part of
a libertarian movement that dialogues and adapts to the reality that it has to live in a
self-affirming attempt of not giving up its basic principles.
After the last repressive attacks by the State to different collectives and anarchist
individuals in the peninsular geography, our political movement has been persecuted and
criminalized at a level that was not seen for some years, with a series of police
operations that sought to deconstruct the existing political and affinity networks,
besides generating social alarm and feeding the collective imaginary with the link
'anarchists-terror'. Being aware of the consequences it has had for the libertarian
movement, and the response that has been given by it, we understand that anarchism is not
at its best, although before these repressive operations it was not. In an attempt to
adapt to the times, the different individuals and collectives have sought to reformulate
their discourse by trying to access everyday problems, and trying to see how they can be
approached from anarchist practice and thought. The realities of each territory are
different and each particular situation has its own context in which to carry out its
political struggle.
As anarchists, we continue to organize ourselves to carry out the social transformation we
desire based on methods and ideas that we consider useful and necessary. We are aware of
the situation in which we find ourselves and in what direction we want to direct our
efforts and objectives. For this reason we continue working as an anarchist affinity group
to provide from our particular vision some tools so that the root social change that we
want is a bit more viable.
Valladolid. December 2017
http://alasbarricadas.org/noticias/node/39396
------------------------------
Message: 3
Mélenchon had promised us. The million, the million demonstrators against the ordinances !
Then he went back. Is it sourness that explains his charge against " the unions " who do
not wish to follow suit ? But who is the leader of insubordinate France ? ---- In his
blog and in the media, Jean-Luc Mélenchon has played the big arms until his march of 23
September in Paris. Given the very relative success of this national rise and the
criticisms of his hegemonic approach, he declared that he allowed the trade unions "to
take control " of the organization of the struggle against the ordinances. Too kind,
thank you ! Then, faced with the very real difficulties of trade unionists in developing a
solid strike movement, he began to blame unions, their divisions and their independence
for being responsible for the situation. Excerpts from General Méluche's blog, October 31:
" The Charter of Amiens constantly invoked again will have had good back. It is high time
that many who refer to it to stigmatize the presence of political organizations in the
social struggle are wondering whether this document dating from 1905 and resulting from
the battle between Marxists and anarchists at the beginning of the previous century must
remain a dogma without nuance 111 years later. Because this text fixes a strategy of
workers' unity by keeping at a distance the "socialist sects" (at the time, in 1905, there
are five socialist parties) to allow the triggering of the "general revolutionary strike"
... Among the leaders of the current social movement, which intends to prepare today a
"revolutionary general strike" as provided for in the "charter of Amiens" ? No one ! "
" Of course, on November 16, you have to be in the union mobilization. As at every stage,
the insubordinate France mobilizes alongside the unions while the opposite is never true.
Nobody, including those who give lessons, mobilizes so much. We must end this hypocrisy.
In any case, I say it clearly: political organizations have their place in the
mobilization and the conduct of the social resistance movement. "
These excerpts call for comment: parties electoral workers today are in the same state of
fragmentation and sectarianism at the turn of XX th century. With the Amiens Charter -
which dates from 1906 and not from 1905 - the anarchists and revolutionary syndicalists
had two objectives: to preserve the unity of the CGT from the rivalries between political
factions ; to protect the workers' movement from reformist illusions. Obviously, the
Charter is still relevant ! If too few union activists - we are - still mention the
general strike expropriator, alas the melenchonists are shining on this ground neither in
congresses, nor in the AG ...
The externality claimed by the social movement is striking. To pretend that " nobody
mobilizes as much " as the IF is otherwise grotesque except to justify Mélenchon's claims
to direct trade union activity. We do not need political leaders but builders and builders
of unions.
Finally, we must once again recall that Mélenchon bears a direct responsibility for the
disenchantment and wait-and-seeism that strike the proletariat for having been so long a
leader and surety for the PS, senator, secretary of state in the service of liberal policies.
Producers and producers, let's save ourselves !
Jean-Yves (AL 93-center)
http://www.alternativelibertaire.org/?Melenchavisme-Les-syndicats-derriere-moi
------------------------------
Message: 4
Once upon a time, it was a twenty-something couple who had just come out of an exhausting
and exciting week of beautiful protests against the World Trade Organization in Seattle.
They had a question in their burning hearts: what would be our best way to build justice
movements in the world? Being more of a hacker and geek vein, they came up with the idea
called riseup.net . ---- In the beginning, the project provided emails and lists to a
handful of friends who needed secure ways to communicate, something that would not come
from the corporations they were fighting against. It was a very simple project: we ran the
server, encrypted the messages and did not save the logs. That was in the 2000s and the
internet was still a new thing.
As Riseup.net grew with new members, everyone began to think and theorize about why core
technology collectives were an essential part of creating the movement. There was an
increasingly evolving conversation about how technology could have, rooted and within
itself, systems that protected and served people's needs, rather than exploiting them. At
that time, all our servants were in communes and friendships in Seattle, and there were
several downs to the basements to solder wires and keep the services running.
Some members of the collective left, others entered. Sometimes with a lot of conflict, the
way it usually happens when we work collectively. Some of us went to university, others
moved to Canada, had children, got married, got busy. Many people left for a while and
came back when they had time and space for Riseup again. Many people stayed. Throughout
that time, our systems and technologies have grown to provide more services to our users,
who were not just our friends but also our allies in this quixotic quest.
We've moved our servers to a more secure location. We have made friends with tech
activists around the world and we have given tools and broadband to smaller tech groups to
avenge. We write a lot of cool software and make it all free and openly distributed for
anyone to use. We were sued by right-wing religious types who did not like our users to
kiss their conservative church. With activist advocates, we put on our best clothes and
went to federal court, and we refuse to give any information about our incredible users.
We win the case. And we keep growing.
And then came Edward Snowden. Suddenly, the things we've been saying to people for years
have stopped sounding like conspiracy theories. People understood that surveillance was
coming at us. The number of users has increased and we have improved our security.
Spammers and phishers attacked us on all sides and we counterattacked in a continuous and
boring war. Enemies have encountered several bugs to use our services and we play
cat-and-mouse to find them and kick them out. Every year we improve something, like
encrypted email storage this year. Every year, we keep talking about our why and
theorizing how technology, which is changing everything around us, is an essential place
to reclaim space and create liberation shifts.
And here we are, eighteen years later. Some of you have been with us since the beginning.
Some of you are new to Riseup. We are very lucky to be on this journey with all of you and
we remain as stiff, exuberant and exhausted as ever. Please, please keep us running for
another year, if you can.
> Donations: https://riseup.net/en/donate
------------------------------
Message: 5
If nobody coerces us when it comes to voting, we have the government that we deserve. If
we voluntarily join a union, we have the unions that we deserve. Both governments and
unions are there because we wanted it. They are our representatives. That is the tragedy
that is hidden behind the deepening social involution. An evil that comes from below-up,
without complexes or excuses. With our endorsement And contributing in passing to foster a
culture of submission and resignation that makes it unnecessary for the powerful to use
force to achieve their goals. ---- That would be one of the possible explanations of what
just happened in prosperous Austria. Where thanks to the support of an important part of
the population, a recognized xenophobic party has managed for the second time to enter the
government of the nation. Jibarizando what they call democracy and is nothing but a raffle
that is activated every four years. A mere scoring technique. Like a raffle or a pool.
With just enter the ballot box already precooked with the name of the party and their
tribe. With hardly any capacity for deliberation or less decision by citizens. But also
programmed bottom-up, sovereignly.
And so process after electoral process, we move away more and more from something that is
minimally similar to the real policy, and paving the way for those who come behind
reproduce that DNA of meekness because it is the custom. The freedom to choose and consume
against the right to decide for oneself and to learn from lived experience and not
deferred. We have seen it in the City Council of the capital, where the Madrid initiative
decides! , which offers citizens the possibility of participating telematically in the
government of the city, is turning out to be a complete failure. People do not "want to
complicate their lives" . Not one of the proposed proposals has elicited responses that
have exceeded 7,000 supports in a census of 2.7 million inhabitants.
But it would be defeatist and false to attribute all the blame to those represented, those
we have called "those below." Actually acts of apathy, conservative mentality, cowardice
and conformism are instigated by the intermediate actors that we have accepted gladly
because it comes in the script . Those institutional agents officially responsible for the
management of the public in our own name. Parties and politicians, trade unions and trade
unionists, and in that order of things, all the mediation bodies to which the man and the
woman in the street give a blank check every time for them to be supplanted. Without
contract by means and without effective capacity of reversion when the crude reality
denies the gross promises made. Joined to the yoke of the shared hoax, victim and
executioner end up getting confused.
The most indecent example of this environmental cannibalization is in the infamous and
buoyant traffic of the ERE. A bargain for the unions of the concertación (CCOO and UGT)
that make cash cashing multimillionaire amounts to advise in the massive dismissals that
the companies approve under the protection of the labor legislation. In theory they use
their lawyers and accountants to verify the items of the benefits to be paid. Although in
reality that intermediation becomes a flourishing business for the union structures. So
the theory of "class struggle" becomes a "class compadreo" from the moment that
businessmen and union leaders share booty. To more layoffs, more business for all.
This is the great anomaly that, in spite of the crisis that has led Spain to be the second
country in the European Union with the highest rate of unemployment and one of those with
the highest precariousness rate at work, is the Carousel of the ERE continue at maximum.
Right now Banco Santander and Bankia are immersed in two separate employment regulation
files, according to the cynical euphemism used to camouflage what forced unemployment
means. In the first case affecting 1,364 people and in the second to 2,510. A huge
clientele for the friendship trade union, which makes CCOO and UGT richer and contributes
to the cascade of early retirement to further worsen the future of the pension fund.
In this sense, the Bankia file is particularly odious . When its top leadership and those
of Commissions and Ugeté reach their last trade union objectives, a historic robbery will
be consummated. Because the money that was used to destroy those thousands of jobs and pay
generously to the commission agents in the negotiations will have left the more than
16,000 million euros taken out to the Spanishfor the rescue of CajaMadrid-Bankia. And if
that were not enough, the union fortune will fall on the same condemned power stations,
interposed person, for the disgusting affair of black cards. Fortunately, there are still
intact unions, such as CGT and CNT, which are only financed with the fees of their
affiliates, refuse to paste with the ERE and renounce the manna of the training grants.
Let's end with a riddle: why is almost not reported what happens in the macro trial of the
ERE of Andalusia? For that reason, because it is a scam between the Board, employers and
unions CCOO and UGT to share about 855 million euros (the barbarity of about 142,000
million pesetas) among friends, family, acquaintances and addicts the cause. A process
that has led to the presidency of two presidents of the Junta de Andalucía (as well as
presidents of the PSOE) and 16 high-ranking officials of its government for alleged
prevarication and embezzlement of public funds from which power is passing without grief,
no glory for the incredible fact that those responsible are "one of ours".
Rafael Cid
https://www.cgt-lkn.org/blog/archivos/4690
Home »
Anarchic update news all over the world - Part 2 - 26 February 2017
» Anarchic update news all over the world - Part 2 - 26 February 2017